Twelve fintech investors actively back Melbourne startups in 2026. They range from bank-backed corporate VCs to independent funds. Here's who writes cheques, what they back, and how to get in front of them.
Melbourne has quietly become Australia's fintech capital. Three major banks headquarter their VC arms here.
Founders have both bank-backed and independent funds to target. Who you approach first depends on your stage and sector.
Corporate VCs like NAB Ventures and Reinventure move slower than independent funds. You'll get more rigour in diligence but also more strategic value post-investment.
This guide covers twelve Melbourne-based fintech investors and how to approach each.
| Type | Check size | Sector focus | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reinventure | Corporate VC (Westpac) | A$500K-A$5M | Fintech, banking tech | reinventure.com.au |
| NAB Ventures | Corporate VC (NAB) | A$500K-A$10M | Fintech, payments | nabventures.com.au |
| X15 Ventures | Corporate VC (CBA) | A$250K-A$5M | Fintech, consumer tech | x15ventures.com.au |
| Rampersand | Independent VC | A$500K-A$5M | Fintech, enterprise SaaS | rampersand.vc |
| Square Peg Capital | Independent VC | A$5M-A$50M | Fintech, B2B SaaS | squarepegcap.com |
| Blackbird Ventures | Independent VC | A$200K-A$50M | Fintech, deep tech | blackbird.vc |
| AirTree Ventures | Independent VC | A$100K-A$30M | Fintech, B2B SaaS | airtree.vc |
| Folklore Ventures | Independent VC | A$200K-A$3M | Fintech, deep tech | folklore.vc |
| M8 Ventures | Seed VC | A$100K-A$500K | Fintech, SaaS | m8ventures.com |
| OIF Ventures | Independent VC | A$1M-A$10M | Fintech, B2B SaaS | oifventures.com |
| Artesian VC | Multi-strategy VC | A$500K-A$10M | Fintech, impact tech | artesianvc.com |
| Skalata Ventures | Accelerator/VC | A$200K-A$2M | Fintech, tech | skalata.co |
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Start free 14-day trialWhat Melbourne fintech VCs look for
Fintech in Melbourne covers payments, lending, wealth tech, and banking infrastructure. Most investors focus on B2B models with clear enterprise revenue potential.
Corporate VCs want strategic alignment with their parent bank's roadmap. Independent funds care more about market size and founder-market fit.
Your data room should include bank integrations, compliance docs, and cap table. Read our guide on hard vs soft due diligence to understand what investors prioritise.
A strong fintech pitch puts the bank use-case front and centre. Show enterprise deals or LOIs early - they move corporate VCs faster than metrics.
Melbourne fintech founders have a natural advantage. The Big Four banks are all headquartered here, and that proximity shortens enterprise sales cycles significantly.
12 Melbourne fintech investors
1. Reinventure
Westpac's VC - the real value is bank distribution and API access, not the cheque size.
Recent Deals: Kasada $20M Series D (Dec 2025) - bot defence and cybersecurity platform
LinkedIn: Reinventure LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, banking tech, cybersecurity
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: reinventure.com.au
2. NAB Ventures
NAB's fund moves slower than independents but opens doors to 4M NAB business customers.
Recent Deals: FourTwoThree seed round (Jun 2025) - climate action platform for banks
LinkedIn: NAB Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, payments, climate tech
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: nabventures.com.au
3. X15 Ventures
CBA's venture arm builds and buys businesses alongside external investments.
Recent Deals: Triple Bubble partnership (Sep 2025) - fintech fund; Gable (Apr 2025) - database software
LinkedIn: X15 Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, consumer tech, banking
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: x15ventures.com.au
4. Rampersand
Fastest-moving independent fund in Melbourne - decisions in weeks, not months.
Recent Deals: Cuttable A$4.5M seed (Aug 2025) - Australian adtech startup
LinkedIn: Rampersand LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, enterprise SaaS, B2B
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: rampersand.vc
5. Square Peg Capital
Best global network of any Australian fund - US and Israeli connections from day one.
Recent Deals: Airwallex US$300M Series F (2025) - global payments and fintech platform
LinkedIn: Square Peg Capital LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, B2B SaaS, marketplace
Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, growth
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: squarepegcap.com
6. Blackbird Ventures
Back founders building global category leaders - they take bets other Australian funds won't.
Recent Deals: Airwallex US$300M Series F (2025) - co-invested with Square Peg and AirTree
LinkedIn: Blackbird Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, deep tech, consumer
Stage Focus: Seed to growth
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: blackbird.vc
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Start free 14-day trial7. AirTree Ventures
Australia's largest early-stage fund by AUM - A$2B across five funds, seed to Series B.
Recent Deals: Airwallex US$300M Series F (2025) - co-invested; A$650M Fund V closed 2025
LinkedIn: AirTree Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, B2B SaaS, marketplace
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: airtree.vc
8. Folklore Ventures
Small fund, goes in early and holds long - no pressure for a quick exit.
Recent Deals: Hullbot A$16M Series A (Nov 2025) - autonomous underwater robotics
LinkedIn: Folklore Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, deep tech, software
Stage Focus: Pre-seed, seed
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: folklore.vc
9. M8 Ventures
Fast seed decisions - warm referral gets you an answer in 2-3 weeks.
Recent Deals: Emanda seed round (Dec 2025) - business productivity software
LinkedIn: M8 Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, SaaS, marketplace
Stage Focus: Pre-seed, seed
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: m8.ventures
10. OIF Ventures
Don't pitch if you're still searching for product-market fit - they require concept validation.
Recent Deals: Omniscient A$36M (May 2026) - healthcare AI; Starboard Maritime A$13.8M Series A
LinkedIn: OIF Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, B2B SaaS, deep tech
Stage Focus: Seed, Pre-Series A, Series A
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: oifventures.com.au
11. Artesian VC
Broadest mandate in this list - agrifood to fintech to AI, if the team is right.
Recent Deals: 5 investments in the past 12 months across fintech, impact tech, and deep tech
LinkedIn: Artesian VC LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, impact tech, deep tech, agrifood
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: artesianinvest.com
12. Skalata Ventures
Best entry point pre-revenue - 6-month accelerator with capital and a structured build programme.
Recent Deals: Paperly A$3M seed (Nov 2025) - co-invested with Purpose Ventures and Tribe Global
LinkedIn: Skalata Ventures LinkedIn
Sector Focus: Fintech, SaaS, marketplace
Stage Focus: Pre-seed, seed
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Website: skalata.co
Bank-backed VCs vs independent funds
Bank-backed VCs come with balance sheet and distribution advantages. If your product needs banking APIs or compliance approval, they open doors.
The downside is internal approval cycles and strategic restrictions. A term sheet from NAB Ventures can take longer to close than from Rampersand.
Independent funds like Square Peg and Folklore move fast and write bigger cheques. They won't have a bank relationship to leverage but they'll push your valuation harder.
Run both tracks in parallel if you can. Use investor relations tools to keep each track updated without losing momentum.
How to run a Melbourne fintech raise
Most Melbourne fintech VCs want a warm intro from a founder in their portfolio. Cold outreach works but expect a longer response time.
Start with investors who've backed companies at your stage and sector. Approaching a growth-stage fund with a pre-revenue idea is a waste of time.
Keep your investor updates tight - one page, key metrics, one ask. Use investor update software to track opens and know who's engaged.
After your first meeting, send your data room link immediately. Ellty's sharing links show you who looked at which documents and for how long.
Fintech due diligence in Melbourne
Fintech due diligence is more complex than most sectors. Investors check your ASIC licensing, AML/KYC processes, and banking partner agreements.
Get familiar with the full due diligence process before your first meeting. Investors in fintech will probe regulatory risk early.
Technical diligence includes API architecture, data security, and uptime records. See what investors check in technical due diligence.
Organise your compliance documents in a structured data room before first meetings. Ellty lets you set folder permissions so investors only see what's relevant.
Commercial diligence in fintech means verifying your unit economics and churn. Read our commercial due diligence guide to build the right data set.
How to pitch a Melbourne fintech investor
Research each investor's portfolio and regulatory stance before you reach out.
- 1.Check their portfolio before outreach.Don't pitch if they've backed a direct competitor.
- 2.Get a warm intro from a portfolio founder.Ask a founder they backed. Cold outreach rarely works.
- 3.Lead with your ASIC status and compliance plan.Fintech VCs kill deals on regulatory risk early.
- 4.Send your Ellty data room within 24 hours.Track who opened it. Follow up on high engagement.
- 5.Follow up with one metric that proves traction.Don't send long updates. One stat moves VCs faster.
How Ellty helps you land a fintech investor in Melbourne
Ellty is a data room for founders raising capital. Share documents and track investor activity.
- 1.Upload your fintech documents to Ellty.Add compliance docs, financials, and deck to Ellty.
- 2.Share trackable links with each investor.Each VC gets a unique link. Ellty logs every open.
- 3.See which investors are engaged today.Check analytics to see who spent the most time.
Melbourne fintech investors: common questions
- They want B2B models with banking distribution. Regulatory clarity matters most.
- Expect 3-6 months with corporate VCs. Independent funds can close in 6-8 weeks.
- Most Melbourne VCs invest across Australia. Some also back New Zealand and SEA fintechs.
- Prepare a deck, financial model, cap table, and compliance docs. A structured data room cuts due diligence time.
- Melbourne is better if your product integrates with a major bank. Sydney has more generalist funds.
